Hello to all. I have a weak hive which was a swarm. Not finding larva or brood. We think we see a queen but she may be virgin. No queens available. I was thinking it best just to add these bees to an existing strong hive. First question is should I? If bees dont live too long how would putting these bees with the strong hive be of much benefit. Secondly, if I do choose to combine do I necessarily need to find the queen in the weak hive and remove her? What will happen if she is still with the bees when I move them over. I am going to use the newspaper technique of this is the best coarse of action!! Thanks a bunch. Dale
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If there is any risk the weak hive is weak because it is diseased then don’t unite. have you had the swarm longer than three weeks? If you have and the queen is not mated then remove her and unite as planned. It’s the bees that kill a foreign queen in these circumstances not the other queen so who knows which one would survive. Bees not feeding brood live much longer than normal so it’s worth uniting
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Thanks Dee. I really appreciate it!!